1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to slicing machinery and especially to devices adapted for automatic slicing of the ends of an ear of corn to produce ears of a standardized size.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Various mechanisms have been suggested in the past for trimming and processing vegetables. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 1,553,227, issued Sept. 8, 1925 to Feyk et al, shows a slicing machine having a rotary conveyor containing a plurality of clamps, each of which clamps include one movable jaw and one stationary jaw. The movable jaw is displaced between an open and a closed position by a cam surface positioned at the center of the conveying apparatus. U.S. Pat. No. 2,062,739, issued Dec. 1, 1936 to Canaday, shows a corn cutting apparatus for severing the top and bottom from ears of corn. The ears of corn are vertically disposed in tubes attached to a circular conveying apparatus. The individual ears rest on a stationary plate and a cutout in the plate allows the ears to fall after the ends have been severed. U.S. Pat. No. 2,712,334, issued July 5, 1955 to Bridge, shows a vegetable trimming machine which uses a plurality of clamps linked together. Each clamp includes a pair of opposed arcuately shaped jaws for holding a vegetable in a vertical orientation. The Bridge device holds the vegetable firmly between the jaws while the vegetable is being cut and releases the vegetable after the cutting process. U.S. Pat. No. 2,961,023, issued Nov. 22, 1960 to Boyer, U.S. Pat. No. 3,349,822, issued Oct. 31, 1967 to Rauth, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,451,397, issued June 24, 1969, also to Rauth, show vegetable trimming machines which include a plurality of vegetable holding plate elements attached to a conveyor chain. Each vegetable holding element has a V-shaped surface for holding the vegetable in a horizontal plane while it is submitted to the slicing process.